One Worker Killed, 10 Injured In Viaduct Structure Collapse

SCDF conducts search and rescue operation with the help of SCDF K9 search dogs. (Photo: SCDF) Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/uncompleted-viaduct-near-pie-collapses-1-dead-10-injured-9030432

SINGAPORE– A worker from China was killed and 10 other foreign workers were injured after a viaduct under construction here collapsed early today, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

The SCDF said the incident happened at about 3.30 am beside the slip road from Upper Changi Road East to the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).

The injured workers, six from Bangladesh, three from China and one from India, were sent to the Changi General Hospital, it said in a post on Facebook.

The SCDF said it was alerted to the incident at 3.35 am and that the search-and-rescue operation had been completed and all workers at the construction site had been accounted for.

About 60 SCDF officers, including members from the SCDF Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), were involved in the search-and-rescue operation. SCDF K9 search dogs were deployed to assist in the operation.

“The affected structure is part of a highway that is under construction,” it said.

Meanwhile, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said the contractor was carrying out works to cast the decking for the new viaduct adjacent to the slip road from Upper Changi Road East to PIE (Changi).

The LTA said it had begun safety investigations into the cause of the accident to determine if there were any lapses or gaps it would need to address urgently.

It said it had, among others, directed the professional engineers who were responsible for the project to carry out detailed investigations into the design and construction quality of the affected structure.

It also said that preliminary investigations indicated that the corbels supporting the pre-cast beams had given way.